Optimize for Taxes for Easy Performance Edge

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I was reminded of this interesting thread over on the forum about the Permanent Portfolio and making a tax efficient portfolio: Historical Returns Including Tax The basic thrust is this: Simpler portfolios that use broadly based index funds and passive investing techniques (like the Permanent Portfolio) pay less in taxes.  Now if you are largely in tax-deferred space (IRA, 401(k), etc.) it might not matter (although it probably does because tax inefficient funds and strategies are usually bad performers long term, but that’s another story). However, for taxable savings efficiency matters a great deal. In fact, when I looked at this issue myself years back I made a spreadsheet that applied simulated taxes to common returns and strategies. What I found is the average investor could easily give up 1-2% a year in returns to Uncle Sam by running a tax inefficient portfolio. For actively managed portfolios the results are much Continue reading →

Westwind vs. Clikstand Trangia Alcohol Stove Stand Comparisons and Trangia Thoughts

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I was getting questions about the Trangia stove setup I use for most of my hiking. In particular, some viewers wanted to know why I did or did not like various setups of this stove and how they performed. So for this test, I took out three contestants and boiled some water as an experiment: Trangia Mini Trangia with Clikstand Trangia with Westwind As a control, I boiled the same amount of water with my Snow Peak Gigapower canister stove. Now as discussed in my Westwind review I also ran the stand “upside down” with the stove from the bottom. This significantly increases performance of this stove stand and I recommend you do the same. What were the results? Well the video has the details, but basically the Clikstand and Westwind are near identical. The difference between them is not really consequential in my field testing either. The primary difference Continue reading →

Westwind Trangia Alcohol Stove Stand Review

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The Trangia is a simple and lightweight alcohol stove out of Sweden. It has no moving parts and uses a safe and widely available fuel source (alcohol) to heat your meals. It is supremely reliable and well-tested over the decades. There are various third party stands for the Trangia (see my Clikstand review for one). In this review I go over another alternative known as the Westwind Trangia stove stand. The Westwind stand is dead simple. The three notched pieces fit together into a triangle platform that is stable on uneven surfaces. Once together, you slip in the stove, place the pot on top, and get to cooking. Now the secret to this stove (which I’ll cover in a later video) is you don’t use it the way commonly pictured (with the stove on top). Rather you use it by turning it upside down and slipping the Trangia in from Continue reading →